In his good town of Huntington, West Virginia, Mister David Williams passes the time by writing books. He also strums the six-string and writes songs on occasion. After choosing a cool nickname (Alligator Jackson) and a cool logo (an alligator wearing a Stetson and playing guitar), he gathered several other Southern rock passionate (a singer, another guitarist, a bassist and a drummer). This group will line up an impressive number of rehearsal sessions and record several albums in a North Carolina studio. He will even sign with a record company in Kentucky but... he will never perform on stage. No concert, not even once! Incredible, isn't it? The German firm Juke Joint 500 Records has unearthed this hidden treasure of Southern rock and is releasing a compilation of tracks recorded between 2005 and 2009 in the form of a splendid vinyl record with a red-orange sleeve adorned with a beautiful alligator drawing. From the very first measures, we immediately realize that these musicians knew their business and were rather gifted. There is no ambiguity here! It is indeed southern rock with obvious influences of Lynyrd Skynyrd "Nuthin' fancy" period, as shown by the tracks "Liquid courage" (with harmonized guitars) and "Enjoy the ride" (and its good slide) which would remind a little "The needle and the spoon" in the progression of the chords and the rhythmic. The hypnotic Southern rock "Swamp justice" also has a "skynyrdian" touch to it. There are also some excellent foot-tapping southern boogie rock tracks ("Southern barneque", "Repo man", "All hell's breaking loose").There is also a Texas shuffle ("Pull no punches"), a "southern country-rock" ("Blood on the wall" which would slightly evoke the slow part of the Outlaws' "Green grass and high tides") and a Charlie Daniels-like southern ballad about a bad guy ("Alligator Jackson").In short, very good southern rock played by real southern musicians with that inimitable feeling (which you can hear from the first note). Apparently, the band has not existed for a long time and it's a shame that they never played on stage. So, we can only be happy about the release of this record and appreciate this musical relic from the past for its true value.

Olivier Aubry